Memoir | Klay Thompson

21 // Doing Things Differently

"Cameron, what brings you here?" Sheila asks sorting the forks, knives and spoons. "Just stopping by to visit you."

Sheila gave a weary look, Cameron never had time to stop by randomly. "What's the matter? Something wrong at work?"

Sitting in a nearby chair, Cameron scoffs, "Nothing about that place is going to change, something is always wrong there."

"Well what is it?" Sheila joins her at the worn down table. Cameron had never shared as much as she was about to. But she trusted Sheila and needed motherly guidance.

"It's about the boy."

Sheila smirked, Cameron was withholding information about who he was, what he did, and how he made her feel in general. All she knew was about what he did wrong, she didn't even know his name. "Are you going to tell me his name now? I've been waiting."

"No, I'm mad at him right now."
"What happened Cameron?"

"He's driving me crazy. One moment, things are all good with us and the next, its like he cannot communicate with me. Everything with him is like life or death. This is my fault because I should've just stuck to what I said and not have let him in again."

"Okay... start from Christmas. That seems to be where things changed."

"I saw him later that day, twice actually. The first time was just a normal greeting and later that night, it was more flirtatious. We had a couple of drinks, so it all made sense. My birthday, everything went downhill. He told me he liked me, we slept together."

"Which I imagined caused you to back away."

"Yes." Sheila was right, Cameron wanted nothing more than to run away. "We agreed that we shouldn't do that again. We would talk everyday, something that felt pure. And the moment I have to see him again, around other people it turns into chaos.

Like remember how I told you I was going to Houston? Well, I went and I had the conversation with that woman, and I slept with him again and he practically ran away from me. He expected me to be understanding and its nothing normal when it comes to dealing with him. He's got a reason and excuse for all of the madness, all of the time and I'm sick of it."

"Do you care about him Cameron?"

"I guess."

"If you don't care, why can't you guys simply shack up, get your rocks off and go home?"

Cameron thought about it, she mentioned that during her argument with him and it made sense for that to work but, she wasn't sure if she wanted a sexual relationship that held no substance. Cameron did care about Klay, but she cared about herself more. She did not want to fall for him and it blow up in her face. It was already too complicated.

"I don't really do that." She shrugged.

"Sometimes you have to do things differently. Look, I don't want you getting hurt, so don't put yourself in a place to get hurt. If you're able to do this friends with benefits thing, do that. Or just leave him alone, be in the friend group and keep your legs closed. It doesn't seem like either of you are ready for a relationship."

••••

Cameron carried on with her day, which was getting back to Harden to get work done. It seemed as the weeks went on the company had been falling apart. Every other week, they were either picking up after their client's mess or trying to extradite a deadline. Cameron was thinking of an exit plan, sadly that plan was not working in her field. It would only be temporary to help her with the move.

In order for Cameron to be successful, she would need to move. Harden was one of the best publishing companies in the world, and the best in Northern California. Going to another in the area would be a downgrade. It was time for her to spread her wings and fly.